No-sag overhead retracting doors



Jan. 10, 1956 A. L. MARJAMA 2,729,862

NO-SAG OVERHEAD RETRACTING DOORS Filed May 28, 1951 AL w/v I. MAQJAMA,

INVENTOR.

A Trae/vEY.

United States Patent NO-SAG OVERHEAD RETRACTING DOORS Alvin L. Marjama, Monterey Park, Calif.

Application May 28, 1951, Serial No. 228,570

6 Claims. (Cl. 20-16) This invention relates to doors of the overhead retracting type commonly used on automobile garages, and is particularly concerned with improved means for preventing sagging of such doors in open condition.

A common difficulty encountered with overhead retracting doors is their tendency to sag in the open horizontally extending condition. This tendency of course results from the fact that the usually rather wide door is supported only at its opposite lateral edges, and the rigid ity of the door is not sufiicient to maintain its central unsupported portion completely straight, particularly after having been in use for any considerable length of time.

The general object of the present invention is to pro vide means for preventing such sagging by positively supporting the central and usually unsupported portion of the door in its open condition. As will appear, this result is effected by providing the door and an overhead frame member with elements which interfit in the open condition of the door, to support the central portion of the door directly from the frame member. One of these elements may take the form of a projection, preferably carried by the door, while the other is a keeper adapted to receive and accurately relatively position the projec tion. In order that no special manipulation will be required on the part of an operator to engage and disengage these no-sag elements, they are desirably formed to be moved into and out of engagement solely as a result of the usual door opening and closing movements. In this connection, it is noted that during the final stages of a retracting movement or the initial stages of an opening movement of a door of this type, the door extends and bodily moves in a generally horizontal direction. I find it desirable to so form the no-sag elements as to move into and out of engagement by virtue of this horizontal movement of the door.

An important feature of the invention resides in the construction of the interfitting no-sagelements in such manner as to progressively take up all sag in the door during and by virtue of each movement of the door. For this purpose, I form one of the elements to have a wedge face, acting to draw the elements progressively together as the door approaches opened condition, to take up any sag which may tend to develop.

A particular object of the invention is to provide the no-sag elements as specially constructed hardware adapted to be applied to the door and its frame with a minimum of effort and cost over that required for applyingthe usual door hardware. Specifically, the door carried element may serve also as a handle by which the door is opened. This element may be formed of a single piece of metal having a loop portion serving as the handle, and having an angular projection extending from an upper end of the handle for reception within a frame carried keeper.

The above and other features and objects of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the typical embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a small scale perspective view of an automobile garage door installation embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the center of the door in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section through the door and the upper doorway header, taken in the plane of Fig. 2 and showing the door in its overhead retracted position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sag preventing keeper; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the door handle, which idnterfits with the keeper in the retracted position of the oor.

I have represented in the drawing a conventional automobile garage 10 having the usual doorway 11 defined at its opposite sides by a pair of vertical frame members 12, and across its top by a pair of wooden headers or frame members 13. The door 14 acts in its full line vertical position of Figs. 1 and 2 to close the doorway 11,. and is mounted for bodily swinging movement to the overhead retracted horizontally extending broken line position of Fig. 2, in which the doorway is open to passage of a vehicle.

The door is mounted for swinging movement between its open and closed conditions by a pair of mounting assemblies 15 positioned at the opposite sides of the door. Each of these mounting assemblies may typically com-- prise a plate 16 attached to a corresponding one of the side frame members 12, and carrying a pair of arms 17' and 18 pivotally mounted to the plate at 19 and 20.. These arms are also pivoted to a door carried member 21 at 22 and 23 respectively, so that the door may swing upwardly from its closed condition and then generally horizontally to the right as seen in Fig. 2 to its retracted position. A spring 24 counterbalances the weight of the: door to maintain it in its overhead retracted position.

At its forward side, door 14 carries a specially formed' handle element 25, positioned substantially midway between the two lateral edges 26 of the door and near thelower edge 27. This handle element comprises a vertically extending piece of metal forming an outwardly projecting handle loop 28, and attachable to the door by bolts 29 and 30 both above and below that handle loop.. Above its point of connection to the door by upper bolts: 29, the handle element forms an integral projection 31,. which extends angularly upwardly and away from the: door.

A keeper element 32 is mounted to a forward one of the headers or frame members 13 in vertical alinementi with handle element 25, to coact with that handle element. in supporting the central portion of the door when the door is in its upwardly retracted position. This keeper element is formed of a single sheet of metal having a; first portion 33 extending vertically across the forward. face of the forward header member 13, and having a second portion 34 extending horizontally against the under-- side of that header'member. The vertical portion 33 of the keeper element may contain a pair of openings 35 for receiving screws 36 by which the keeper is attached in its illustrated position to the header. That forward face of the keeper also contains at a location; directly adjacent the bottom portion 34 of the keeper' a preferably rectangular opening 37 for receiving pro-- jection 31 of the handle. The forward header member 13,. to which the keeper is attached, is recessed at 38 behind. keeper opening 37, to receive the handle projection.

To open the door from its full-line Fig. 2 position,. a person grips handle loop 28 in the usual manner, and pulls forwardly and upwardly on it to swing the door to its broken-line retracted position. During the last por-- tion of that retracting movement, the door, while extending in a generally horizontal direction, moves bodily in a generally horizontal direction and to the right as seen in Fig.9. 'lhishorizontal movement of thedoor brings projection 31 of the handle into keeper opening'37 to effectively support the .central portion of the door from the header. Due to the angularity of pr0jection31, its undersurface acts as a wedge face engaging .the keeper along the lower edge .of opening .37 in a manner progressively drawing the central portion of thedoor .up-

wardly toward the header. The interengagement of handle 25 and keeper 32 thus positively. prevents the uusal sagging of the central portion of the door in its overhead retracted position.

I claim:

1. For use in combination with an overhead swinging doormounted at its lateral edges for movement between a vertically extending closed condition and an overhead horizontally extending open condition, and aframe member above the door, said door extending and bodilymoving generally horizontally during the final stages of its opening movement and during the inital stages of its closing movement; afirst element attachable to said frame member, and a second element attachable to said door at a location intermediate said lateral door edges and movable into and out of interfitting relation with said first element during and by virtue of said horizontal movement of the door, said first element having a portion engaging and received beneath a portion of said first element in said open condition of .the door to support the door from said member, one of said elements having a wedge face acting to engage the other and progressively draw the door. upwardly as it approaches said opened condition.

2. For use in combination with a door mounted for movement between a vertically extending closed condition and an overhead horizontally extending open condition, and a frame member above the door, said door extending and bodily moving generally horizontally during the final stages of its opening movement and during the initial stages of its closing movement; a generally U-shaped handle loop attachable at its opposite ends to a portion of the door intermediate opposite lateral edge portions thereof, a projection carried by and extending upwardly from an upper end of said handle loop, and a keeper plate attachable to said frame member and having a first portion adapted to extend vertically across a forward face of said member and a second portion perpendicular to said first portion adapted to extend horizontally at the underside of the frame member, said first portion of the keeper plate containing an opening adjacent said second portion of the plate into which said projection is horizontally movable during and by virtue of said generally horizontal opening movement of the door to support :the door from the frame member, said projection extending at an .angle to the plane of the door to act as a wedge element progressively drawing the door upwardly as it approaches said opened condition. a

3. An overhead swinging door installation comprising a movable door, means connected to opposite lateral edge portions of the door and mounting it for bodily opening and closing movement between a vertically extending closed condition and an overhead horizontally extending open condition, a frame member above the door, said door extending and bodily moving generally horizontally at the underside of said frame member during the final stages of said opening movement and the initial stages of said closing movement, a keeper attachable to said frame member, a handle attached to a portion of the door'intermediate said opposite lateral edge portions thereof for use inopening the door, a projection carried by said meager;

4 handle and positioned for movement to a location above and in engagement -with a portion of said keeper during and by virtue of said generally horizontal opening movement of the door to support said intermediate portion of the door from the frame member, said handle projection extending at an angle to present a wedge surface acting to progressively draw the door upwardly as it approaches fully open condition.

4. For use in combination with an overhead swinging door mounted for movement between a vertically extending closed condition and an overhead horizontally extending open condition, and .a frame member above the door, said door extending and bodily moving generally horizontally during the final stages of its opening movement and during the initial stages of its closing movement; a handle attachable to a portion of the door intermediate opposite lateral edge portions thereof for use in opening the door, a projection element carried by said handle, and a keeper element attachable to said frame member and having an opening into which said projection is ,horizontally movable during and by virtue of said generally horizontalopening movement of the door to support the door from the frame member, one of said elements :having a wedge face acting to engage the other element and progressively .draw the door upwardly as it approaches fully opened position.

5. In an overhead door installation having a movable door, a frame member .above the door, and means connected to the door near its .lateral edges and mounting the door for opening and closing movements between a vertical closed position and an overhead horizontal open position with the door moving generally horizontally at the underside of the frame member in the final opening and initial closing-movements, the combination of a keeper on the framemember and an element on the door intermediate .the lateral edges thereof, said keeper and element being interengageable by the final opening movements of the door so that the element overrides the keeper, said keeper and element having cooperating means whereby overriding of the keeper by said element elevates the element during said final opening movementsof the door to lift :the intermediate portion of the door relative to the frame member.

6. An overhead door installation comprising: a movable door; a frame member thereabove; means connected to the door near its lateral edges and mounting said door for opening and closing movements between a vertical closed position and an overhead horizontal open position with said door moving generally horizontally at the underside of said frame member in the final opening and initial closing movements; a pair of elements, one carried by said door intermediate said lateral edges thereof and the other carried by said frame member, said elements being interengageable by the final opening movements of said door so that the door carried element overrides the frame member-carried element; and means cooperatively associated with said elements effective by the interengagementof said elements for lifting the intermediate portion of said door relative to said frame member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,766,183 Mealia June 24, 1930 2,021,057 Friedrich Nov. 12, 1935 2,177,275 Bird Oct. 24, 1939 2,286,082 Goodman iune 9, 1942 2,561,079 Trammell July 17, 1951 2,660,765 Carlson Dec. 1, 1953 

